The folks over at Creative Assembly and SEGA gave Tokyo Game Show 2026 attendees such as ourselves a chance to get a glimpse of Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000. Although a final release date is still under wraps for the anticipated installment, what we’ve seen in our roughly one-hour gameplay was clear: Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 is back! From the get-go, it was clear that Creative Assembly is making some significant changes to the familiar Total War formula.

The TGS demo offered three different ways to play: a tutorial, a shorter mission, and a much more difficult advanced battle. Honestly, the time provided wasn’t enough to see everything the game has to offer, but it provided a good look at how the massive time jump affected the battlefield.

While Total War: WARHAMMER already mixes melee, ranged units, artillery, and other battlefield abilities, WARHAMMER 40,000 introduces a stronger emphasis on cover, ranged engagements, and battlefield interaction. Our time with the game also highlighted how important positioning and cover can be in the upcoming sequel.

A Simpler Way to Read Through the Chaos

One of the first things we noticed was how units are categorised. Here, they’re separated into Light, Medium and Heavy classes, with each one being represented by different geometric shapes. This gave us a quick visual indicator of what they’re dealing with without needing to constantly inspect individual units.

It’s one of those small changes that plays a huge role, especially in a game like this where chaos can quickly ensue during battles. The change also seems to make interacting with different types of armor simpler. This goes in hand with earlier developer footage, which showed that three armor categories were being used to communicate a unit’s effectiveness against different angles.

New Ways to Take (and Make) Cover

What caught our attention the most was the stronger emphasis on a cover mechanic. Although previous games allowed players to block projectiles, they never really offered a fully-fledged cover system.

In the demo, we were able to position infantry behind objects and structures, where they can be protected from the enemy’s line of fire. This adds another layer of strategy wherein simply ordering a unit to attack won’t cut it, as you’ll have to wisely consider where the troops are aiming from. 

Cover isn’t permanent as well. For instance, during our playthrough, we encountered several destructible terrain features that made for great cover. At the same time, however, they can be used to destroy buildings and other objects, and could even open new routes through the battlefield. Creative Assembly’s demonstrations also highlighted this previously, wherein terrain destruction can alter sightlines and create new opportunities for attacks. 

The destructible elements make the battlefield more dynamic than ever. One building that safely houses enemy troops can potentially turn into rubble after a well-placed attack.

More Hands-On Than Ever

We also noticed how hands-on the gameplay was this time around. During our time with the game, we found ourselves frequently managing our units since most units have an active ability. This makes the game more than just simply positioning troops and hoping for the best, as players would have to use their tools during engagement.

Reinforcements also debut in Total War: Warhammer 40,000. Players can bring additional units onto the battlefield during battles to provide assistance when the tide starts turning against them. We’ve also encountered moments where reinforcements can be called alongside support attacks, including orbital strikes and bombardments. These features sort of acts like a “get-out-of-jail” card that will help players get out of a pickle.

Familiar…With Some Changes

The changes aren’t limited to the battlefield as well. While playing the campaign on the overworld map, we noticed that units have two movement points, veering away from Total War: WARHAMMER’s previous movement system.

WARHAMMER 40,000 is also putting stronger emphasis on the actual fights themselves rather than the economic and settlement-management side of the gameplay core. However, that’s not to say that the strategic layer has taken a backseat. With Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 being built around enormous battles, the strong focus on the fights makes sense. Creative Assembly appears to be leaning into that identity rather than simply putting the existing Total War: WARHAMMER systems into a science-fiction setting.

Total War: WARHAMMER: A Grimdark Future

The roughly one-hour hands-on experience we had with Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 left plenty of things to discover about the game’s lore and direction. Our attention was mostly drawn towards the overwhelming advanced battles, but that’s just part of the appeal. With its new destructible environments, cover mechanics, unit classes, active abilities, and reinforcements, Creative Assembly is building upon the proven-and-tested formula introduced in their previous game. 

Instead of simply arranging armies and watching them clash, there’s a stronger emphasis on constantly reacting to what is happening around you.

Registration for the Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 Closed Beta closes on Monday! Sign up now for your chance to get involved. Learn more about what happens next in our blog:

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Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000 is currently scheduled to launch in 2027 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. SEGA has also confirmed that a closed beta is planned for later in 2026.